The viral ‘uncanny valley’ makeup trend is taking over TikTok as creators try to scare their viewers with their terrifyingly good make-up skills
Uncanny valley is a term used to describe the amazing feelings people experience when they make eye contact with a humanoid robot. To replicate that feeling, TikTokers are turning things upside down and wearing makeup to look like a robot.
What is the uncanny valley faces makeup trend and its meaning as it goes viral on TikTok
Where's my horror fam at?
Tried the uncanny valley makeup 😆 pic.twitter.com/iBgnHfNOlh— 𝕂𝕠𝕕𝕚 🥔 (@SrgtMeow) November 7, 2023
tw ? for uncanny valley makeup
uncanny valley shit is so unsettling pic.twitter.com/HIBSqsOFds
— keith (@leechicklix) November 9, 2023
Under the uncanny valley makeup trend, women cover their faces with foundation by using concealer and highlighter, so that the light falls on the face unnaturally. They draw around their mouths and eyebrows with eyeliner and mascara to show their character. All video tutorials are different in technique, but the end result is similar: viewers are thrown off by a look that looks too perfect in some parts and a little desperate in others.
The viral make-up trend is taking over TikTok with over 40 million views as creators try to scare their viewers with their terrifyingly good make-up skills. The creators aim to create the same uneasy feeling people get when they look at Android – something is wrong, but it’s hard to pinpoint what.
TikToker Zara (@alkiiwii) recently gained popularity for embracing the trend, quickly gaining 14.4 million views with her latest video hashtag #ucannyvalleymakeup, which has 41.5 million views on the popular social media channel.
In the video, the creator lip-synced to a clip from the video game “Detroit Become Human,” which follows androids in the year 2038.
Users compared Zara’s makeup to the mother character from the famous scary children’s movie “Coraline”.
“It gives me goosebumps,” replied @moonxdione. Many others compared Zara’s makeup to the mother character from the famous scary children’s movie “Coraline”.
The recent makeup trend comes as the world grapples with the rise of artificial intelligence and the rapid expansion of technological capabilities, including shockingly realistic depth fakes and the inability to determine what is and isn’t AI.
This term became popular earlier this year after a collection of AI-generated images of what appeared to be house parties scared viewers as they tried to understand why the images were so creepy. The “Uncanny Valley” effect has also been shown to affect more than how people feel, but also how they react.